Tom Fazio has designed more than 120 courses, many of which rank in the Top 100 in the U.S.
He was voted Best Modern Day Golf Course Architect three times by Golf Digest magazine and in 1995 received the The Old Tom Morris Award, the highest recognition awarded by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
Tom Fazio Facts
| Name | Thomas Fazio |
| Born | 10 Feb, 1945 |
| Nationality | American |
The PGA National Resort in Florida has 5 courses, 3 of which are designed and crafted by Tom Fazio and are considered to be his best courses. The Champion course here hosted the 1983 Ryder Cup which welcomed the best players from the USA and Europe, it has been redesigned by Jack Nicklaus since Fazio first laid it out.
His other best creations are considered to be at Pinehurst Resort (courses 4, 6 & 8) and Osprey Point at Kiawah Island which are ranked within the Top 100 Courses in each region.
Kiawah Island
Flights, 5 Nights, 3 Rounds
North Carolina
Flights, 5 Nights, 3 Rounds
Miami - South East
Flights, 5 Nights, 3 Rounds
When Adare Manor decided to put the resort through a spectacular redevelopment they turned to Tom Fazio to redesign the original Robert Trent Jones layout.
Fazio has designed a golf course where each hole boasts distinct character and unique playability, creating a complete golf experience to satisfy all levels of golfer, whether they play from the forward or back tees. His philosophy of highlighting the natural beauty and existing topography of a site and his genius for playable design shine through every step of the course, from the 1st hole to the 18th.
The Golf Course at Adare Manor is now one of just a handful of courses worldwide to have the patented Sub Air technology, also found at Augusta National, beneath every putting surface, providing constant air movement for aeration and to moderate the temperature in the root zone.
Adare Manor Courses Statistics
Par: 72
Established: 1955
Length: 7,509 yards
South West Ireland
1 Night, 1 Round
Tom Fazio was born in Norristown, Philadelphia and went to the Lansdale Catholic High School. He began his career in golf course design as a teenager in 1962, joining the family business which was run at the time by his Uncle George, a former Tour player, in Pennsylvania. However, in 1972, he left to start his own design firm in Jupiter Florida.
Since then, Tom has designed over 120 courses across North, Central and South America and the odd course overseas including Waterville Golf Links in Ireland.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what his signature finish is. His course designs vary greatly, with some being determined by the landscape and others where the landscape is totally moved.
Perhaps more than any architect in history, Fazio possesses an absolute vision of how golf fits into a landscape. The holes of a Fazio course are frequently framed by a flashed bunker, a change in fairway direction to emphasize dramatic off-course scenery. The flowing contours of a Fazio course tend to blend together easily, his designs tend to be an enjoyable scenic walk.
Take Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, for example, where 3,000 tonnes of earth was moved to make way for Fazio’s imaginings. What can be certain is that the vast majority of his designs have a magnificent grandeur about them.
His most notable designs include Pinehurst No. 6 & No. 8, Barefoot Resort, Wild Dunes. Most recently, he revamped the layout of Adare Manor, due to host the Ryder Cup in 2027.
The world-renowned golf course architect also worked on golf courses in Barbados, the Dominican Republic and a little closer to home for us in Ireland.
Both the Green Monkey & Country Club Courses at Sandy Lane in St James are crafted by Fazio and are both ranked in the Top Courses in the Caribbean. You may recognise this course thanks to it's monkey shaped bunker on the 16th hole.
Another stunning location creates the base for Corales Golf Club at Punta Cana Resort, where the scenery is dramatically beautiful at every turn. The course measures over 7500 yards in length creating a true championship test.
At Waterville Golf Links in Kerry, Ireland you'll find a course almost completely surrounded by water. Pot bunkers and links features make this a very memorable track ranked a Top 10 Course in all of Ireland.
Dominican Republic
Flights, 7 Nights, 3 Rounds
South West Ireland
1 Night, 2 Rounds
St James
Flights, 7 Nights, 4 Rounds
Nevada
Shadow Creek
Wynn Las Vegas
Arizona
Grayhawk Golf Club
Oregon
The Pronghorn Resort
South Carolina
TPC Myrtle Beach
West Virginia
The Greenbrier
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